Spring 1971. You’re at Follies, Stephen Sondheim, Harold Prince, and Michael Bennett’s follow-up to Company. The opinions of both critics and acquaintances has been so mixed, you can’t imagine how they were all watching the same show. (Though everyone agrees that the poster is absolutely incredible.) The setting is the ficticious “Weismann Theater,” which held an annual Follies (à la Zigfield) in the years between the wars. (So, 30-40 years ago). Weisman is hosting a reunion of the former Weisman Girls on the eve of his theater’s demolition. The set is a literal pile of rubble. Or rather several deliberate piles of rubble mixed with scaffolding that moves in and out to create different configurations, with actors walking or riding above, around, and through. Two couples emerge as the evening’s protagonists: The wealthy and influential Stones (Ben and Phyllis) and their less glamorous counterpart, the Plummers (Buddy and Sally). Though their lives diverged, at one time Phyllis and Sally were friends and costars in the Weisman Follies with Ben and Buddy as their stagedoor Johnnies. Past and present co-exist here, with another quartet of actors playing younger versions of the couples, bringing haunting memories, and conflicts, back to life. All of the guests at the reunion have ghostly doppelgängers, and the score straddles both eras, mixing older pastiche numbers with more contemporary songs about the present-day conflicts. At times, you can see why some are calling this the greatest musical ever presented. The staging and the design is simply spectacular. It moves fluidly, and frequently, between a dozen characters in multiple time spans—sometimes you get caught up in it like a fabulous fever dream. But other times, You can see why some are calling it an insufferable slog. You’re occasionally confused as to who is talking, where/when they’re supposed to be, and why you’re supposed to care. Nor are you really rooting for the Stones or the Plummers, who seem miserable for entirely self-created circumstances. Among the many side characters is Carlotta, one of Wiseman’s biggest talents who had success in the early days of television and wears the remnants of her fame well. She’s played by Yvonne De Carlo—Lily Munster!—and the line between the Carlotta’s and De Carlo’s biographies seems awfully blurry. After regaling other party guests with a story about an old number that was cut years ago, she launches into a hymn of show business survival. When it starts off, you assume it’s a pastiche, but as it goes on, it feels like a much more pointed commentary on Carlotta’s (and De Carlo’s) present-day experience. (“I’m Still Here”) Catch up with all the songs to date! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.100showtunes.com
